Natsu was speechless when he first saw her. Though she was beat up and bandaged, she had the prettiest face he'd ever seen. Her hair was like individual strands of gold, and her eyes, oh her eyes! They were like melted chocolate. He only snapped out of his trance when some snapped their fingers in front of his face. He jumped back.

"Jeez flame brain. Off into lala land much? What's gotten into you?" Gray asked from next to him. Natsu gazed confusingly at the floor.

"I don't know...I think I might be hallucinating." The dragon slayer said slowly. Gray rolled his eyes and followed behind Erza once they started moving.

"That's what happens when you pick fights constantly and get the shit beat out of you. You just need rest." Natsu nodded and looked back up at the woman who was causing him so much trouble. So that was the princess. He made a mental note to stay away from her. Even her angelic voice was getting to him. They all stopped abruptly once the princess did.

"-and this is the library. It's my favorite room of this whole castle. If you ever need to talk to me and can't find me, I'll usually be here with or without my advisor," she tapped her chin in thought, her eyes scanning what's in front of her. "Speaking of advisor, I wonder where Gajeel went. I wanted you all to meet him. He's really nice!" Lucy said with a smile. Erza gave the blonde a small smile back.

"Excuse me, I don't think we caught your name, your highness." Lucy tilted her head to the side for a moment at Erza's question. Only parking up when she understood it.

"Oh! Yes, I'm Lucy. What are all of your names?"

Erza cleared ther throat. "I am Erza Scarlet," she pointed to Gray. "This is Gray Fullbuster, Wendy Marvell, Levy Mcgarden, Happy and Charle, and Natsu Dragneel." Lucy blinked when Erza pointed to Natsu. He had his arms crossed and looked away from her. He looked pretty out of it from what Lucy could tell. He also had a small frown on his face. She couldn't help but giggle. He was cute.

"Lucy!" A new voice called from behind her. Startled out of her thoughts, she turned around to look at Gajeel. He looked angry and was increasingly getting closer to her. He stepped in front of her and glared at the mages with her. Erza narrowed her eyes and had a sword appear from air.

"G-Gajeel! They aren't enemies!"

"What?"

"Yeah, they were hired to protect the castle. Don't you remember father telling us that?" The man turned his head to Lucy, then back to the group of mages. He grunted something unintelligible and stepped away from Lucy, but keeping a close distance. Lucy chuckled awkwardly as everyone glared at each other. She rubbed the back of her head and pouted towards Gajeel. So much for making them feel welcomed. "This is Gajeel, my advisor."

"Nice my ass..." Gray scoffed quietly. Natsu snickered silently at that. But Gajeel's expression told a different story. He suddenly grabbed Gray by the back of the shirt. Even shaking him around to scare him a bit.

"Wanna say that again, punk?" Gajeel turned to Lucy, keeping the boy in the air. "These weaklings can't protect you or the castle. I say we toss em to the curb." Lucy's mouth dropped open. She yelled, grabbing the tall man by the bicep.

"Please put him down Gajeel, they're guests! You can't hurt the guests!" His ruby eyes pierced her own.

"Says who?"

"Says me, you jerk!" She punched his arm until he grudgingly set the man down. Gray would of fought back, but Erza had told them before hand, that if they attempted to fight anyone, she would skin them alive. And Gray happened to like his skin very much. Gray huffed and fixed his shirt, giving Gajeel a hard look. Yeah, definitely not nice.

Gajeel gave Lucy a glance before he stomped away. He didn't like to leave her alone with strangers but they pissed him off. He couldn't stand being around even one of them. He didn't need anyone to protect the princess or the castle. He was capable all on his own.

Lucy watched him go with a sigh. "I'm sorry, he's always been like that. He's not too fond of strangers." Erza crossed her arms and turned to Gray, nodding at him. It was their silent ways of asking if they were okay. He gave her hum and leaned to his right side.

"With all do respect, if he treats you and everyone else like that, why haven't you fired him. Or had your father fire him?" Erza asked slowly. Lucy smiled slightly with thought.

"I've been asked that a lot. And my answer still remains. He's my best friend, I've known him since we were children. I couldn't replace him. He's the smartest man in Magnolia, and he means too much to me. That's why I refuse to fire him," Lucy said sharply. Erza apologized and bowed. The blonde then realized how her tone of voice came off and waved her hands back in forth, in nervousness. "A-Ah! I didn't mean to come of as mean. I'm sorry!"

Erza's eyes widened. A princess just apologized to her, that has never happened to her in her life. "Its quite alright..." Lucy fumbled with her dress and pointed to the end of the hallway.

"I should probably show you your rooms now, shouldn't I? My father says you all don't have to start until tomorrow. You all might be here for a long time, so we made sure your rooms are extra comfortable." She turned around and began to walk down the hallway. She felt her face burn in embarrassment. Now she was the rude one. She sighed, she supposed she should go check on Gajeel after she was done here. It was only right.

"Excuse me, princess Lucy?" A timid woman ran up to her and nervously turned away.

"Um, yes Levy-chan?"

"Is your library really that spectacular?" Lucy felt the upturn of her lips again. She clasped her hands together.

"Oh you have no idea! So many books I don't know what to do with myself. If you're interested, we should go together later!" Levy gasped and nodded her head without saying a word. She couldn't say anything. It was the princess who offered to go with her, she didn't even have to ask! Wendy was right. Lucy really was nice.

"I'll be looking forward to it." Levy mumbled when she finally found her voice. Lucy hummed in happiness all the way to the end of the hall. Once she stopped, she opened up a door.

"This will be the girl's room. There are plenty beds and two bathrooms. I hope you're all okay with sharing." Lucy laughed. Erza stepped in and nodded to herself. It was a huge room indeed. She shook her head.

"Sharing is quite alright with us. Let's get settled." Erza directed at the girls. They all walked in and shut the door quietly. Lucy then opened another door across the hall.

"You three can share this room," Lucy said, before biting her lip. She directed her eyes to the man with black hair. "Gray, right? I apologize for Gajeel's behavior. It was unacceptable, I'll talk to him later about it." Gray shuffled out of his shirt and shrugged. Lucy's eyes widened as she stared at the shirt lying on the ground.

"Its no big deal, princess. I'm tougher than that." She frowned.

"Still, I don't like him disrespecting our guests. Its important to me that you all see our family as respectful and kind. I can already imagine the thoughts running through your minds as you came to our castle doors. I just...I just want to prove you all wrong." Despite her words, Lucy gave the boys a grin. Stunning both Natsu and Gray. She seriously was determined to stand away with the traditional attitude of royalty.

They both said nothing as they shut the door, leaving Lucy alone with her thoughts.

...

"I knew it. Happy, we were right!" Wendy giggled. After a couple hours of hanging around in their rooms, everyone decided to familiar themselves with the castle. Sticking together, they traveled around the halls. Eventually they all came to a stop at the library. They all were currently sitting at a table, stacks of books laid on the table.

"Yes, I was very surprised." Erza hummed happily. Levy was busy using her speed reading glasses to read through tons of books on dark guilds. It wasn't as if they came in contact with them twenty four seven. Usually, dark guilds do a lot of illegal things that manages to slip underneath the magic council and legal guild's noses. So it was best they learn about different dark guilds and what to look out for.

"Lucy is a super good person. I figured that out when she first smiled at us." Levy said, keeping her eyes trained on the book in front of her.

"Anyway, how is everything coming Levy?" Natsu asked, hoping to change the subject. This had everyone focus on Levy. She sighed as she set the book down on the table.

"There isn't much to go by really. Most of this just explains how dark guilds came to be and such. Nothing exactly helpful at the moment. I was hoping there would be some information on some of the forbidden magic a dark guild may be using, but there isn't anything on that. Its expected though, since much of their work is done in secret." Levy rubbed her temples.

"Maybe we should ask Lucy or Gajeel what happened the night of the attack." Wendy suggested. Charle smiled and nodded her head.

"That's the best plan of action I've heard all day. Surely they should have information on why this has happened in the first place. And if not them, then the king."

"Then its decided," Erza said as she stood up. "We'll split up and talk to Lucy and Gajeel separately. Then if we find out nothing useful, we'll go to the king. Levy, Wendy, Charle, and Happy, you will find Gajeel." Wendy gasped.

"W-Why us!? He'll kill us if we get close enough!"

"Because," she sighed. "He obviously doesn't like Gray or Natsu. I think it would be better if less...threatening people talk to him. Gray, Natsu, and I will talk to Lucy." Levy stood up shakingly and walked Wendy and the two exceeds out the door.

"Y-Yeah...come on guys, let's try and find Gajeel." Levy said, her stomach twisting with every step she took. She was less than excited to talk with the man. He scared her enough and wasn't even paying attention to her. With Happy in her arms, Levy turned down a corridor and out of sight. Erza walked out right after, Natsu and Gray following.

They tried Lucy's room first. Erza hesitantly knocked on the door, she hoped this wouldn't be disturbing the blonde. "Your highness, could we talk?" Erza put her ear to the door as she heard two voices having a conversation with each other. One of them was the princess's. Which meant someone was in there with her.

"Yeah, just a minute- shut up Virgo!" Lucy said rather loudly. She gasped and put her hand to her mouth. She hoped to Mavis that Erza did not hear that. Lucy had Virgo disappear while she opened the door to her room swiftly. Her hair was messy with visible bags under her eyes.

"Are you alright, Lucy? I thought I heard voices." Erza mutterd while she snooped around the blondes room. Lucy stood awkwardly with a smile while the redhead looked under the bed, then in the closet.

"O-Oh, I'm totally fine. I...I just like to talk to myself! In different voices!" Natsu couldn't help himself. He let out a snort and looked away as Lucy glared slightly at him.

"Weirdo."